Shad White is one perplexing politician. He is smart and capable. He appears to be honest and dedicated to public service. But he sometimes lets his temper get the best of him.
The other day, Mississippi’s state auditor was incensed after learning that the Madison County School District had distributed at a PTO meeting a flyer outlining where the district’s administration stood on education proposals the state Legislature is contemplating during the 2025 session.
Notably on the list of ideas the district is “against” are private school vouchers and “open enrollment,” which would allow students to transfer into public school districts where they don’t live.
White has good reason to be unhappy with the school district’s action and to demand it show that no public funds were used for what was clearly a political purpose.
But he needs to watch his language when expressing his dismay.
Using four-letter words, such as the one he resorted to on his social media post, is undignified, especially in a person who seemingly aspires to represent this state as governor. He has plenty of education, including a law degree from Harvard and postgraduate studies at England’s University of Oxford, to have a broader vocabulary than that.
